Not just in New York City: Upstate New Yorkers say bail reform is fueling crime there too

The Big Apple isn't the only city suffering fromviolent crimethanks to bail reform.

By June 30th this year, Rochester residents are grieving the loss of loved ones who have been murdered and are afraid to venture out into the streets after dark. shootings have increased by 26.1% compared to the same period in 2021.

However, since then, Rochester Police have tallied five more shootings. The gun death toll, including the July 21 ambush killing of city police, comes just hours after Mayor Malick Evans declared a state of emergency over firearms-related crime.

Syracuse saw a nearly 23% increase in shootings, while smaller cities such as Troy and Binghamton saw even larger spikes of 100% and 80% respectively.

Her 42-year-old Allie Forrest of Rochester was recently shot dead while attending her friend Sweet's 16th birthday party for her 16-year-old daughter, Zahira. Buried Smith.

"Bail reform has been terrible and has made criminals overconfident. They are laughing at the police," Forrest said.

We would if we lived in, no bail reform.”

In Troy, a city of 51,401 people northeast of Albany, the number of shootings doubled from eight to 16 this year, The number of murders increased from one to three.

The 63-year-old resident, who worked as a sign repairman and took his name as Greg, said former Governor Andrew Cuomo "made this place more dangerous when he brought in bail reform." I made it happen,” he said.

"Bail reform makes no sense," he said.

'The night is very scary

If you are arrested, you will be turned back and released immediately.

Greg added: “Albany is the perfect place to undo what Cuomo started. "Recently, people were shot within a few blocks of my house," he said.

Hochul said, "We need to know that bail reform is not working."

"Jails are full and criminals want to arrest criminals I understand you're thinking, 'Tickets to the show, but it's not safe for the rest of us,'" she said. Jim Mangan, 58, said he moved to Binghamton from the Bronx eight years ago and witnessed an increase in crime in the Southern Tier city of 47,979 people.

"Gun violence is definitely on the rise," he said.

Mangan said in November that he was "against bail reform." He said he planned to hold a vote.

"Catch and release. No way, man," he said.

"We gotta go. When people get arrested, they need to know they're going to jail." It was one of the cities where both cases and homicides fell by 32% and 22.3% respectively.

At a press conference last week, Adams released statistics showing that more than 80 percent of his people arrested for gun possession this year had been released from custody. .

"How do you take gun control laws seriously when overwhelming numbers of people are back on the streets after carrying guns?" he fumed.

Bail Reform Allows Judges to Reduce All Gun Charges Bail can now be set for defendants, but it also requires the least restrictive conditions necessary to ensure the defendant's return to court.

Washington County DA's Anthony Jordan, president of the State Attorney's Association, last week acknowledgedAdams' repeated demands, that the judge would not allow the defendant to make bail.

Until that happens, "the public safety risk posed by this law remains."

challenger and outgoing Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Lee) said in a statement Monday:

"We must end cashless bail, support law enforcement, hold criminals accountable, and take back the city for law-abiding New Yorkers." he added.

Hochul spokesperson Hazel Crampton-Hayes said the governor "is leading a comprehensive approach to ending the epidemic of gun violence and is committed to preventing and damaging gun violence." has invested millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance programs, including Buffalo, Rochester, Poughkeepsie, Syracuse, and Troy.

We are ramping up our efforts to combat gun violence, reporting a 104 percent increase in illegal gun seizures this year," Hochol said. horrific mass shootings."